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Fighting Hippos in St Lucia, South Africa
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Contest Finalist in We Love Animals Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Our Natural World Photo Contest
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Contest Finalist in On The Wild Side Photo Contest
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Contest Finalist in Animal Kingdom Photo Contest Vol 1
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken in the KwaZulu-Natal estuary in St Lucia, South Africa. The estuary is home to at least 800 Hippos who dominate this area. They share a complex inter-linking eco-system with more than a 1 000 Crocodiles and an amazing array of birds. The wetland waters are wonderfully fertile and teeming with mud prawns, shrimps, fish and all kinds of aquatic life. Birds that can be spotted include Pelicans, Fish Eagles, Kingfishers, Great White Egrets, Eastern Golden Weavers, and Goliath Herons. Should you ever visit South Africa, don't miss this amazing estuary.Time
Our boat safari started at around 16:00 in October last year. This photo was taken during early sunset which made the light a bit softer and also woke up the hippo's for some serious fighting. Their skin got a nice golden and the shadows were minimal due to some clouds.Lighting
I wanted to keep the natural feeling of these beautiful animals and their habitat as pure as possible. I used only natural light in combination with maximum aperture to draw the attention of the viewer to the fight and create a soft background.Equipment
I bought a Nikon 200-500mm F5.6 tele lens for this trip. I have a Nikon D600 and a 24-70mm 2.8 allround lens which I use most of the time. I bought a manfrotto monopod for the 200-500mm lens which which gives me more flexibility than a tripod during safaris. For landscapes, I use a manfrotto tripod and a Lee Big-Stopper, ND filter.Inspiration
For this shot I did not want to be a spectator, I wanted to be part of the fight. My purpose is to show the world the raw nature of these hippo's in their environment. It is so pure, that it becomes beautiful to me. To add energy and suspense to this photograph, I asked the boat owner to open the entrance doors so that I could lay on the ground of the boat and take this action photograph. Fortunately, he allowed this for a couple of minutes. After this, I realised that hippo's are amongst the most dangerous animals out there, especially in their natural habitat!Editing
To get more focus on the hippo's I converted the image in black and white in lightroom and added some contrast and vignette. Since I wanted to keep the natural beauty of this photo, post processing was relatively minimal.In my camera bag
Depends on the bag :) Usually I carry my Manfrotto 190x, 16-35mm F4, 24-70mm F2.8 lens, Nikon D600, Lee Big-Stopper ND Filter, Lee Little-Stopper, remote control and led light with me. Also I carry a raincoat to protect my equipment in the rain.Feedback
When you travel try to do some pre-work at home to see how the environment looks like, what spots have water or height, how bussy it is, if it is accessible by car? When at your destination, check when the sun comes up and goes down (apps available), ask local people about their favorite spots, have a chat with a driver or boat owner (so that he/she opens the door for you as mentioned previously;), check tide times, where the east and west is and also check on google for some photographs to get a better feeling. Also have some patience (which gives you more time to relax), you might have to go back to the same location a couple of times to capture that one shot. Enjoy and good luck!